07 June, 2010

This post covers my 15mm Hittite army. It includes enough troops to cover both variants of the Hittite Empire DBA list (I/24 a and b), from 1380 - 1180 BC. The Hittites ruled most of Anatolia and at times parts of Syria, Phoenicia and Mesopotamia. They fought many wars against the Egyptians (most notably at the battle of Kadesh) and other near eastern peoples. Their kingdom came to an end in the 12th century BC with the onslaught of the Sea Peoples.

The Hittites are the third and last of my biblical army trio to be posted to my blog. They were painted at roughly the same time as the New Kingdom Egyptians and Canaanites (see earlier posts) in 2004 or 2005. The Hittites are my favorite of the three for several reasons. I find their history very interesting. There are some spectacular ruins of their capital, Hattusas, at Bogazkoy in modern Turkey that I'd love to visit. Plus, their rulers had great names. My favorite is Suppiluliumas (reigned 1350-1322 BC). How cool is that name?

Click on the pictures for close-ups. Figure manufacturers are noted in each picture.

First is the usual picture of the entire army.

These are the archers (2x2Ps) and the subject levies (1x7Hd) from one of the many Anatolian or Syrian cities the Hittites ruled. The archers are from Falcon UK and the levies from Old Glory.

The spearmen (6x3Sp) are the backbone of the army. These are my favorite figures in the army. They are a mix of Essex (the ones with shields) and Falcon UK (without shields). The Falcon figures come with separate shields, but I chose not to attach them because they are holding their spear with both hands and I like how they look without the shields. They are wearing the typically bright clothing that the Hittites preferred.

This is the general's chariot from Essex Miniatures. The Hittite 3-crew chariots can serve as either a light or heavy chariot depending on which army list you're playing. The early period features all light chariots, with a mix of light and heavy chariots in the later period.

Here are the other chariots. The one in the middle is from Essex and the left and right ones from Falcon UK. As I noted in the post on my Canaanites, I often use one of their chariots as a Syrian subject when playing with the Hittites.

Last is the camp. This is one of my favorite camps that I've made and is newer than the rest of the army. I painted it in the winter of 2009-10. The Hittite king Suppiluliumas is being attended by scribes while in front of the royal tent. In the background, a column of slaves is bringing up supplies. The tent is from Baueda, the king and scribes from Museum, the slaves and the royal guard from Essex, the slave guards from Old Glory, and the ram's head standard from Irregular.

04 June, 2010

This army covers the Syro-Canaanite or Ugaritic DBA army lists (I/20 a and b), which last from 1595 to 1100 BC. It is the second of the three biblical armies I painted at roughly the same time in 2004 or 2005 (the New Kingdom Egyptians and Hittites are the others). One of the advantages of these 3 armies is that they are all enemies and/or allies of each other, so there are multiple historical matchups available to play.

The majority of the figures in the army are Old Glory, from a DBA army pack purchased from Rudy at Time Portal Hobbies. There are a few additions, which I'll point out in the pictures as they appear.

As usual, click on the pictures for a closer view.

The first picture is of the whole army: skirmishers in front, followed by chariots, then the infantry behind.

Here are two 4-horse chariots (2xHCh). I use the one on the left as the general for the Ugaritic list.

These are the heavy infantry of the army (1x3Bd and 1x4Bd). I really like the curved sickle-like weapons they carry. These are Essex figures from their biblical Syrian range.

This is the mass of the infantry (4x3Ax). One thing I like about the army packs that Time Portal Hobbies sells is that Rudy always includes some 'command' figures. In this case, the left front element has a trumpeter and the right front one has a standardbearer. They add a lot of character to the army.

Next are the missile troops. There are 2 elements of skirmishing archers, 1 of formed archers, and 1 of slingers (3x2Ps, 1x4Bw). The formed archers are from Falcon UK.

Last are the rest of the chariots. The center and right chariots are Old Glory. The left chariot is by Falcon UK and is from their biblical Syrian line. The crew in that one are my favorite. I often use 1 of these chariots in the Hittite army as Syrian subjects or allies.

03 June, 2010

Here is my 15mm New Kingdom Egyptian DBA army. This is one of the classic popular armies, sometimes it seems like everyone has one. Who doesn't picture Yul Brynner in 'The Ten Commandments", Ramesses II vs. the Hittites at Kadesh, or the Egyptians beating back the invading Sea Peoples? It contains all the options to cover both variants of the army list (I/22a and b) which last from 1543 to 1069 BC. I painted it in 2004 or 2005 as part of a set of biblical armies which also include Hittites and Canaanites (those armies will be the subjects of my next posts). It contains a mix of figures from various manufacturers.

Here is a picture of the whole army:

These are the close fighters (3x4Bd). The stand on the right is Essex figures and the other two bases are Chariot.

Here are the archers (4x4Bw). The base on the left are Nubian mercenaries from Chariot. The next stand are Chariot Egyptians and the other two are Old Glory Egyptians.

Next are more mercenaries. The base on the left are Libyan javelinmen by Chariot (1x2Ps), the middle one are Sea Peoples from Old Glory (1x3Wb) and the right-hand one are more Nubian archers from Essex (1x2Ps).

The chariots are from Essex (3xLCh). I dislike painting chariots so this was the hardest part of the army for me to finish.

Next up is the general, also from Essex (1xLCh Gen).

Last is the camp. It is a resin piece I bought at a convention but I do not remember the manufacturer. The civilians passing by are from Chariot.